Reel Trouble
"Reel Trouble" is the twenty-third episode of the fourth season of ''The Flintstones''. It aired on February 20, 1964. Synopsis Fred shows his home movies of Pebbles to everyone in Bedrock, including footage of two crooks committing a crime. Plot Fred becomes an obsessive-compulsive home-movie-maker. His subject: Pebbles. Although Pebbles is an adorable baby, she is boring as a celluloid "leading lady", and before long, Barney and Betty avoid socializing with Fred and Wilma, certain as they are that Fred will "shanghai" them into being a "captive audience" for his Pebbles' hello-good-bye-hello-good-bye hand-waving spectacles. Fred has the audacity to bring a feature-film-length home-movie, 'A Day in the Life of Pebbles Flintstone', to the Water Buffalo Lodge, his lustful Lodge brothers' hopes to behold a "bathing beauty" film being quashed with insipid infant footage. The Water Buffalo brethren have angrily vacated the Lodge, all except for a sleeping Barney, by the time that the movie finishes and Fred exits the projection room to receive his wrongly anticipated accolades. Sam Slagheap's note to Fred: "Dear Former Lodge Member, We'll get you for this!" In response to this debacle, Fred modifies his approach to the filmic art, by positioning Pebbles in locales of interest to people in general, i.e. the Bedrock Park, Zoo, and Art Museum. At the last of these places, Fred inadvertently captures an art robbery in Cromagnonoscope Technicolor, in particular the snatching by diminutive Boss and dimwit lummox Fingers of a Whistlerock's Mother portrait. Boss and Fingers smile at Fred's camera as they are rushing past it, the stolen painting clearly in their possession. Seconds later, Boss is fully cognisant of the implications of two art bandits being on film and in the guise of a doting, elderly lady befriends Fred and Pebbles and learns Fred's name and address. Come evening, after Wilma and the Rubbles have all gracefully excused themselves from further torture by Fred's filmic fanaticism and Fred is alone at home with Dino and a sleeping Pebbles, Boss and Fingers, claiming to be representatives of 20 Millionth Century Fox, visit Fred to request a five-dollar purchase of a certain desirable roll of Fred's film. Fred declines their overture, and thence do Boss and Knuckles reveal their real identities and purpose whilst they tie Dino to a chair with film as binding material. Dino sneezes and frees himself; so, Boss and Fingers prepare to dispose of Dino in a closet, from which Fred's bowling ball falls from a shelf on onto the heads of both criminals, whose resultant unconscious state facilitates a citizen's arrest by Fred. Police arrive at the Flintstone house as summoned by a telephone call from Fred and find Boss and Fingers fastened by rope to two chairs and suffering the cruel punishment of watching Fred's home-movies. The devious duo are only too happy to submit themselves to police custody. Although his fascination with moving images was instrumental in solving a crime, Fred agrees to Wilma's insistence that he "kick" the home-movie habit, and replaces his movie camera with a tape recorder to audio-record Pebbles' baby babble! Characters *Fred Flintstone *Wilma Flintstone *Barney Rubble *Betty Rubble *Pebbles Flintstone *Dino *Boss and Fingers (only appearance) *Uncle Slabsides (only mentioned) *Police officers *Museum Guard (only appearance) Locations *Bedrock **Flintstone home **Bedrock City Park **Bedrock City Zoo **Bedrock Art Museum **Camera shop (only appearance) **Water Buffalo Lodge Objects *Bowling ball *Pebbles' album (only appearance) *Projector screen (only appearance) *Rockographic movie camera (only appearance) *Tape recorder (only appearance) 'Food' *BBQ Pterodacytl *Cactus Juice *Coleslaw Vehicles *Fred's car *Boss's car (only appearance) *Police car Cast Notes/Trivia *The cultural references in this episode were taken with spoofs including, Daryl Zanrock (Daryl Zanuck), the Green Bay Brickers (Green Bay Packers), General Stonewall Jackstone (Stonewall Jackson), and Mickey Marble (Mickey Mantle). *Rockbrandt, Van Granite, Rockasso and Whistlerock are spoofs of famous artists, including Rembrandt, Vincent Van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, and Anna Whistler. *20 Millionth Century Fox is a spoof of the studio, 20th Century Studios, which Disney dropped the Fox name on January 17, 2020. 'Errors' *None known. Category:Episodes Category:The Flintstones episodes